The Bush administration has conceded that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is no longer possible by the end of its term and is preparing to hand the fragile, unfinished U.S.-backed peace effort to President-elect Obama.

The Bush administration has conceded that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is no longer possible by the end of its term and is preparing to hand the fragile, unfinished U.S.-backed peace effort to President-elect Obama.

Israel moved closer Monday to a bruising election campaign that will decide the future of peace talks, as polls showed the moderate foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, in a surprisingly close race with hard-line opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel's prime minister-designate took a break from her efforts to form a new government Tuesday to meet with the chief Palestinian peace negotiator, signaling she will keep negotiations going despite the country's political uncertainty.

Mideast peacemakers appealed Tuesday for urgent, significant progress in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations as conditions on the ground deteriorated and the two sides bickered at an international conference.

Israel's top leaders will debate Tuesday whether to pursue a truce with Hamas' Gaza rulers or embark on a broad military operation against Palestinian militants who torment southern Israel with rocket and mortar barrages.

Israel's top leadership will debate on Tuesday whether to pursue a truce with Hamas' Gaza rulers, or embark on a broad military operation against Palestinian militants who torment southern Israel with rocket and mortar barrages.

Thousands of Palestinian civil servants have not yet received their May wages because Israel is late in transferring tax revenues due under an agreement between the two sides, a Palestinian official said Sunday.